Volume One, Chapter Five: Entrusted with a Great Responsibility?

The village chief’s dispersal order took effect, and the villagers gradually scattered. Gu Ya led Luo Bin to hide behind a few willow trees by the roadside, where seven or eight others were already concealed.

The sun had climbed high, and the air was oppressively hot.

Luo Bin drew a conclusion: these outsiders would bring harm to the village; otherwise, the villagers wouldn’t harbor such hostility! Since the outsiders could sense this animosity, surely they wouldn’t foolishly return?

The sunlight grew increasingly harsh, and the shade beneath the willows felt stifling.

Yet the villagers around them stood ready, each on high alert.

After an indeterminate time, a Santana sedan appeared on the concrete road directly in front of the village. Its engine roared as it sped recklessly forward.

The tires suddenly crushed a mud-covered barbed wire fence.

Bang! With a thunderous burst of a blown tire, the car lost control and crashed off the roadside embankment.

Immediately, twenty or thirty men, including Luo Feng, surged out in a dense swarm from the roadside, surrounding the vehicle completely.

Within two or three minutes, two men and two women were dragged from the car and tightly bound.

From a distance, Luo Bin only saw them struggling and shouting indistinctly.

The hidden villagers emerged one by one, smiles of relief spreading across their faces.

Cloths stuffed into the captives’ mouths muffled their cries into unintelligible whimpers.

“Take them to the Mountain God Temple!” the village chief ordered sternly as he stepped before the four captives and led the way.

The men pushed and dragged the prisoners away.

…

Gu Ya stepped out from behind the willow trees, her expression much more relaxed as she pressed a hand to her chest.

Luo Bin was bewildered.

Was that it?

Just a moment ago, the entire village was uneasy because of the outsiders, and yet they were captured in no time at all?

“They can’t harm us anymore,” Gu Ya exhaled lightly.

“Are they really that dangerous? They don’t look like much,” Luo Bin said cleverly, masking his own doubts while fishing for information.

“Of course they’re dangerous! Xiao Shan, you absolutely can’t take outsiders lightly!” Gu Ya bit the bait and cautiously explained, “These outsiders find it hard to believe they’re trapped inside the village. Even if they leave and somehow return, they’ll just think they got lost. They’ll believe the villagers are villains who kidnapped them.”

“Once night falls, they’re even easier to deceive by evil spirits. They might not even realize those spirits are malevolent. How many villagers have taken in outsiders before, only to be harmed or killed as a result? The village chief repeatedly warns us not to be careless with outsiders! Xiao Shan, you must stay vigilant!”

Gu Ya’s three sentences conveyed a wealth of information.

Luo Bin had previously assumed that the so-called outsiders had some hidden agenda against the village, and that’s why they would hurt the villagers.

He never expected that the village itself was strange—that once someone entered, they couldn’t leave.

Unable to escape, they would circle back, trapped in a ghostly maze.

The idea that outsiders were easily deceived by malevolent spirits rang true in Luo Bin’s mind.

He recalled his own foolishness the previous night.

His face paled at the thought.

Seeing Luo Bin’s expression, Gu Ya comforted him, “But don’t be afraid. The village chief will explain the situation to them. During the day, someone guards the Mountain God Temple to keep them inside; at night, they’re on their own.”

“If they survive three days, they can live in the village. If they run out of the temple at night and knock on doors, as long as we ignore them and don’t open, we’ll be safe.”

Gu Ya spoke seriously.

“Yeah, yeah, I know all that, Mom. I’m fine,” Luo Bin feigned calm.

Relieved, Gu Ya led him back.

In truth, many villagers followed the chief to watch the scene unfold.

Luo Bin wanted to go too, but he couldn’t risk it.

Luo Feng was still nearby; if he noticed anything amiss, it would be suicide.

They soon returned to the courtyard.

Gu Ya went into the kitchen to busy herself.

Luo Bin sat in the main room, digesting the information.

He stealthily pulled out a note, staring at the woman’s portrait sketched on it.

Replaying the scene of the four strangers entering the village and being captured, his heart remained tightly wound.

The note said to rescue that woman in three days.

Would she survive that long?

More importantly, why rescue her?

She was an outsider.

Though Luo Bin himself was also an outsider, at least he didn’t look like one.

He was well aware of his precarious position.

Even in this household, he wasn’t safe. Once it involved outsiders, Luo Feng would notice, and so would other villagers.

One misstep could mean death.

As the old saying goes, a clay idol crossing the river cannot protect itself. Wasn’t he that clay idol?

Rescue… forget it.

Besides, he didn’t even know what was going on with Xu Kaiguo.

Once he accepted this, Luo Bin felt much more at ease and exhaled deeply.

The sunlight was blinding now—it was noon.

From the kitchen came the enticing aroma of meat.

The courtyard gate creaked open.

Luo Feng entered first.

Behind him was the village chief.

Luo Feng whispered something; the chief frowned, a puzzled look on his face.

Gu Ya peeked out from the kitchen to greet them, but the chief ignored her.

In moments, the two entered the main room.

Luo Bin quickly stood and greeted the chief.

The chief ignored him, heading straight to the oil lamp hanging beneath a ceiling beam.

He took the lamp, examining it meticulously from all angles.

“There’s definitely no oil leak. I checked,” Luo Feng said gravely, his tone uneasy.

Luo Bin stepped back toward the door, deliberately wearing a look of reverence.

He had noticed many villagers regarded the chief with this expression.

Only through this respect could they suppress their unease.

After all, he was the “oil thief.”

“There’s no oil leak, and you didn’t misremember when you collected the oil. But last night, the evil spirits were unusually active. Several families said many spirits gathered outside your house,” the chief said solemnly.

“Is it because of the number of spirits? Is the oil burning faster?” Luo Feng furrowed his brows, concern shining in his eyes.

“There’s no precedent, but it can’t be ruled out.” The chief shook his head, contemplating for a moment before hanging the lamp back under the beam and refilling it from a dark oil bottle.

“Tonight, observe the oil’s burning speed carefully. I’ll also have villagers near your house watch for spirits approaching,” the chief instructed.

“Alright, I’ll watch closely,” Luo Feng nodded repeatedly.

“Chief, stay for a meal before you go—braised pork,” Gu Ya said, carrying a steaming dish into the room.

“No, thanks. Those outsiders are hard to communicate with; they insist we’re bandits who kidnapped them. I’m having someone watch them now. I need to go explain things more clearly,” the chief declined with a shake of his head and stepped out.

Luo Bin just began to relax.

The chief suddenly stopped, his gaze landing on Luo Bin, beckoning him over.

“Luo Shan, come here.”

Luo Bin’s mind went blank.

This was different from last night; he hadn’t done anything wrong—so why did the chief notice him?

Had he been exposed somehow?

Panic swelled inside, but he dared not show it and obediently stepped forward.

The chief nodded and said, “After dinner, come find me at the Mountain God Temple. You’ll be responsible for guarding those three outsiders.”

Luo Bin’s ears rang, his mind utterly blank.

The chief hadn’t discovered anything wrong with him.

Yet for such an important task, he was the one chosen?